A two-part study examined the effects of leadership efficacy and optimism on the evaluation and performance of military cadet leaders. Cadets at several universities responded to measures of leadership confidence and optimism. In Part 1, the cadets (n = 96) were rated for leadership potential by their military science professors. Both leadership efficacy and optimism were associated with rated leadership potential. Part 2 followed most of the same cadets (n = 64) to U.S. Army summer leadership training. Leadership efficacy, but not optimism, was strongly related to performance evaluations by objective observers in a leadership simulation and to leadership ratings by peers and superiors. A measure of general self-esteem was not an independent predictor of leadership performance ratings, and neither leadership efficacy nor optimism predicted nonleadership performance measures. These findings suggest that self-rated leadership efficacy has concurrent, predictive, and discriminant validity as a contributor to leadership evaluations.

A full understanding of how efficacy beliefs influence collective action requires considering the social nature of groups. The authors focus on collective efficacy, a shared belief that individuals hold about the group. Collective efficacy can be influenced by both individual- and group-level variables. A multilevel framework is employed to analyze the antecedents and consequences of collective efficacy in college basketball teams. Individual-level influences on collective efficacy included self-efficacy, optimism, perceptions of leader effectiveness, and perceptions of recent team performance. Group-level influences included group size, past team performance, and confident leadership. The authors also found support for collective efficacy as a shared belief. This support came from showing within-team agreement and the interdependence of team members’ collective efficacy beliefs. Collective efficacy beliefs were persistent and affected group performance. Finally, the role of leadership in the creation, maintenance, and enhancement of collective efficacy was analyzed.

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A model of leadership effectiveness including leadership efficacy, anxiety, and selfand collective efficacy for the task was hypothesized and tested in 2 laboratory studies. Groups of 3 people, 1 designated as leader, performed distinct employee hiring tasks in both studies. The empirical model from the combined samples indicates that leaders high in leadership efficacy experienced higher levels of self-and collective efficacy for the task and lower levels of anxiety, and lower levels of anxiety were related to higher self-efficacy for the task. Additionally, the model indicates that the leaders' selfefficacy for the task was associated with their collective efficacy, which in turn predicted the followers' collective efficacy. The followers' collective efficacy strongly predicted group performance. The results are discussed in terms of both their practical significance and their theoretical implications. Leadership EfficacyAn extensive literature on self-efficacy reveals the powerful role that efficacy can play in influencing both motivation and performance (Bandura, 1997

The nasal airway resistance of 15 patients with unilateral chronic otitis media and 15 controls was measured by anterior active rhinomanometry. Airway resistance was measured on each side before and after decongestion to differentiate resistance due to structural abnormality from that due to mucosal swelling. The nasal resistance was significantly greater (P less than 0.01) on the side of the affected ear in patients with unilateral chronic otitis media before decongestion, but following decongestion the difference was not significant. Nasal obstruction is a significant determinant in unilateral chronic otitis media and although septal displacement may be the underlying cause, the major component of the obstruction appears to be due to an associated mucosal oedema.